5 TCEA Takeaways

■ Mobile is everywhere:
This hardly comes as
a surprise, but just
about every session had
something to do with
mobile learning. BYO,
1:1, iPads, Androids,
laptops, etc. You
name it, there was a
presentation for it.

■ Students as producers:
This is a great trend in education that is aided by
this mobile push. Many of the sessions focused more
on the students taking control of their learning and
publishing work to the world.

■ App madness: Yes, the masses are hungry for apps.
It wasn’t unusual to see long lines outside any session
with “app” in the title.

■ Smaller companies step up: Unlike most conferences,
the exhibit floor seemed to feature many more
up-and-coming companies and vendors. This is
mainly due to the combination of mobile push and
the fact that smaller companies seem to innovate at a
quicker rate than their larger counterparts.

■ Informal space to collaborate: One of the best features
of the conference was the “Digital Square.” This was
a space where many presenters and attendees would
gather to discuss ideas. Much of the furniture actually
contained power supplies so you could recharge your
device while recharging your mind.